Postcards from Antarctica: An evolving science-art collaboration with 133 STEMM professionals

In February 2025, over 100 women and non-binary leaders with a background in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM) joined the seventh and final voyage to Antarctica by Australia-based STEMM leadership organisation ‘Homeward Bound’, on the MS Island Sky. Each of the seven voyages has hosted a collaborative art project for all participants, and this final voyage was no exception. This integration of art and science creates a unique space for expressing complex ideas and relationships, reflecting the program’s core model of inclusive, value-driven and empathetic leadership.

On board, voyage participants co-ordinated an ambitious project to create an illustrated topographic map of Antarctica using 132 ‘postcards’ of A5 size. Each postcard was pre-printed with a segment of the map (from an original line drawing by voyager and project co-lead Jessica Leck). After completing the illustration of the front side of their allocated postcard, using watercolours, collage, fabric, stitching, pens, sequins, and any other available material, each participant then wrote a short letter on the back of the postcard to someone of importance. These messages reflected personal insights gained during the once-in-a-lifetime experience of voyaging to Antarctica. Against all the odds (and despite initial protests from some STEMM professionals about not being able to draw!), all 126 Homeward Bound participants and 7 women expedition staff from the MS Island Sky voluntarily completed a card, resulting in a complex mosaic of a continent that holds many profound different meanings for each person. Fully laid out, the illustrated collective map of Antarctica measures 2.3 m by 1.8 m.

Reflections from the project participants highlighted how creating art in small groups allowed for deeper reflection on what it meant to be in Antarctica, fostering connection to people, places, values, and memories. The collective map has been scanned and assembled into a digital mosaic, overlain with the topographic contours. Our collective has plans to develop an interactive online interface and a travelling exhibition of the physical postcards.

In this presentation, we will provide an overview of the collaborative learning and organisational process gained through the project, alongside Antarctica imagery and insights from women and non-binary leaders in STEMM. We will explore how integrating science and art can deepen community connections to remote, yet globally critical, locations such as Antarctica. Our method serves as a practical template for similar initiatives, and we hope to spark conversation on how to effectively disseminate and upscale this approach to bridging the worlds of art, science and policy.